Devices for training babies to walk have been proposed in the past. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 839,681 discloses a baby walker in which a seat is slidably mounted on guide rails supported on a stationary frame. A baby seated in the seat can walk from one end of the guide rails to an opposite end on a fastboard or treadway. Such a device, however, is adapted for unidirectional travel only. That is, once the baby reaches the end of the treadway, the seat must be returned to the other end, thereby requiring assistance from older children or adults. Also, the baby can not turn around or change its field of view while seated.
U.S. Pat. No. 875,377 discloses a baby walker in which a seat is revolvably mounted on a carriage adapted to move back and forth along a pair of support rods. A baby seated in the seat can walk from one end of the support rods to the other end on a platform. Once the baby reaches the opposite end of the platform, he or she can turn the seat around and then walk back to the other end. Because the baby actually walks along the platform, the baby walker is, out of necessity, comparatively large and cumbersome. Although the mobility of the baby walker is enhanced by trucks (i.e., roller assemblies) provided at the bottom of the walker, such mobility poses a potential hazard in that the walker can be accidentally or unintentionally moved close to stairs or dangerous appliances, such as stoves and heaters.
French Patent No. 734,490 discloses a baby walker having a seat suspended in a mobile frame. Rollers are mounted below the seat such that the feet of a baby supported in the seat can contact the rollers, rather than a floor or similar support surface on which the frame sits. The baby can exercise by moving his legs and feet in a walking motion on the rollers. Because the rollers are exposed, the baby's toes or feet can get caught therebetween. The mobility of the walker also poses a potential hazard in that the walker, like the walker disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 875, 377, can be accidentally or unintentionally moved close to stairs or dangerous appliances, such as stoves and heaters. Furthermore, inasmuch as the seat and rollers are fixed within the frame, the baby cannot face a different direction without the entire frame being reoriented, thereby substantially reducing the ability of the baby to interact with its surrounding environment.